Review: Fujifilm X100S and Urbanears Plattan
Fujifilm X100S - a great camera for enthusiasts and Urbanears Plattan - loud, stylish headphones.
Fujifilm X100S
Fujifilm X100S
Price: Rs 74,999
Stunning Results
The Fujifilm X100S is a camera for the enthusiast, not an expensive substitute for a point-and-shoot. It has a single focal length lens, which makes it great for portraiture, street photography and maybe some macro shots, but there is no zoom feature at all. Like earlier X100s it has a retro look, but the USP of this camera and its differentiator from earlier models is its 16.3 MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor with an on-sensor phase detection autofocus. The camera is certainly fast, but the auto-focus is found a bit lacking when one shifts to macro mode and we often had to use manual focus. But the results are stunning, with the colour reproduction being among the best we have seen in a while. Sadly, the camera does not perform all that well in poor light. Thankfully, the flash compensates having many modes and options.
+ve: Build, ease of use Lots of options
-ve: Low-light performance Price
Urbanears Plattan
Price: Rs 5,750
Hot in Every Sense
Headphones from Sweden's Urbanears are as much about style as about clear, loud sound. Its high-end Plattan headphones have a design that is loud as well. The tomato red unit sent for review was covered in fabric and leather all over. The sound quality was really good, more so since it is not a very expensive unit by today's standards. The bass came through well and the lows were clear too. The ear cups fit tightly and keep most external noises out. They are easy to adjust and can even be pulled down separately over one ear. However, the ears do feel a bit hot after listening to an album or two as this is not an open ear model. The stand out feature is the ZoundPlug on the right ear cup which can be used to pin another jack to share music with one more person. The sound on the second earpiece has the same clarity.
+ve: Design Share option
-ve: Ear cups heat up
Nandagopal Rajan
Price: Rs 74,999
Stunning Results
The Fujifilm X100S is a camera for the enthusiast, not an expensive substitute for a point-and-shoot. It has a single focal length lens, which makes it great for portraiture, street photography and maybe some macro shots, but there is no zoom feature at all. Like earlier X100s it has a retro look, but the USP of this camera and its differentiator from earlier models is its 16.3 MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor with an on-sensor phase detection autofocus. The camera is certainly fast, but the auto-focus is found a bit lacking when one shifts to macro mode and we often had to use manual focus. But the results are stunning, with the colour reproduction being among the best we have seen in a while. Sadly, the camera does not perform all that well in poor light. Thankfully, the flash compensates having many modes and options.
+ve: Build, ease of use Lots of options
-ve: Low-light performance Price
Fujifilm X100S
Price: Rs 5,750
Hot in Every Sense
Headphones from Sweden's Urbanears are as much about style as about clear, loud sound. Its high-end Plattan headphones have a design that is loud as well. The tomato red unit sent for review was covered in fabric and leather all over. The sound quality was really good, more so since it is not a very expensive unit by today's standards. The bass came through well and the lows were clear too. The ear cups fit tightly and keep most external noises out. They are easy to adjust and can even be pulled down separately over one ear. However, the ears do feel a bit hot after listening to an album or two as this is not an open ear model. The stand out feature is the ZoundPlug on the right ear cup which can be used to pin another jack to share music with one more person. The sound on the second earpiece has the same clarity.
+ve: Design Share option
-ve: Ear cups heat up
Nandagopal Rajan
